62. Faith, Family, And .... ? What do Filipinos value most?

We honour veterans and their families this week. A Blessed Remembrance Day and Veterans' Day all veterans and their families, honouring those who made the ultimate sacrfice.

What shapes the Filipino-Canadian identity? Sheila's husband, Joseph, traces a line from quiet devotion to public service, showing how heritage, resilience, and a shared purpose that builds a hopeful community.

• context and origins of the Golden Balangay Awards: "Balangay" means a traditional Filipino boat (kind of like the one in the movie Moana)
• Sheila introduces the armour side of the podcast, her husband
• faith practices that renew parishes and daily life
• family rituals that transmit culture and duty
• resilience as service, courage and steady work
• the "Balangay" as a symbol of unity and purpose
• gratitude for unsung heroes: Filipino caregivers, clergy and workers
• a call to document family histories and mentor youth
• collective pride in educators, entrepreneurs and artists

Please join us every week on the Veil in Armour Podcast, where stories come alive through a journalist’s lens and a mother’s heart

Chapters

• 0:00 Honoring Veterans And Service
• 0:18 Golden Balangay Awards Context
• 1:51 Host Introduction And Mission
• 2:54 Lieutenant Colonel Donato’s Journey
• 6:16 Faith At The Heart Of Identity
• 7:46 Family As Culture And Practice
• 10:08 Resilience And The Will To Fight
• 13:03 Stories Of Ancestors And Grit
• 15:35 The Balangay As A Unifying Symbol

Transcript

Sheila Nonato: 0:00

On this Remembrance Day and Veterans Day, we honour all veterans who served our country to fight for our freedoms. We salute the soldiers and their families, especially those who made the greatest sacrifice. For today's podcast, we will look at faith and family in the Filipino-Canadian community through a speech by my husband, who represents the armour side of Veil + Armour. This was delivered last year in Niagara Falls, Ontario, at the Golden Balangay Awards, a pioneering nation-wide awards competition that highlights excellence in the Filipino-Canadian community through education, arts, business, and community involvement; A labour of love and hard work by the husband and wife dynamic duos of Ronnie and Claire Dela Gana, and Jovito and Bloomy Favila of Ajax, Ontario, it has blossomed into a national organization which has been hosted in cities from the West and the East Coast, and with many more volunteers and partners, including a partnership with the Filipino-Canadian National Scholarship Program to support students. It continues to pave the way forward, recognizing the talents and contributions of our Filipino-Canadian c

Sheila Nonato: 1:29

ommunity. Thank you for joining us today. Without further ado, some words of reflection about the importance of faith and family and how this has led to a strengthened community of hope and purpose. Hello and welcome to the Veil and Armour Podcast. This is your host, Sheila Nonato. I'm a stay-at-home mom and a freelance Catholic journalist. Seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the inspiration of Our Lady, I strive to tell stories that inspire, illuminate, and enrich the lives of Catholic women to help them in living up our vocation of raising the next generation of leaders and saints.

Co-hosts: 2:14

Please join us every week on the Veil in Armour Podcast, where stories come alive through a journalist's lens and a mother's heart.

Mr. Alberto Rodil: 2:54

Born in Toronto and deeply rooted in traditional Philippine values, Lieutenant-Colonel Nonato proudly honors his heritage with his father's roots in San Andres, Bukid, Manila, and his mother from Labo, Camarines Norte, in Bicol.

Mr. Alberto Rodil: 3:15

Joining the Canadian Armed Forces in 1991, he began his journey at the Royal Military College of Canada under the Reserve Entry Training Plan and received his commission in 1995. Lieutenant-Colonel Nonato's distinguished career includes deployments on Operation Athena in Afghanistan as Operations Officer for Regional Psychological Support Element, and Operation SOPRANO with United Nations Missions in South Sudan as military relations officer, and Operation IMPACT to the Canadian Joint Task Force Headquarters in Kuwait as a Task Force planner. His educational achievements are equally impressive with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics from the Royal Military College of Canada, a Master of Science in Education from Canisius College, and Advanced Studies in Army Operations and Joint Command and Staff Program. He is currently pursuing a master's Defence Studies. In 2017, Lieutenant-Colonel Nonato was appointed commanding officer of the Royal Regiment of Canada, where he made a unique contribution by introducing Filipino martial arts, Kali de Leon, into military training, blending cultural heritage with tactical practice.

Mr. Alberto Rodil: 4:53

Currently serving as part of the directing staff for the Joint Command and Staff Program at the Canadian Armed Forces College, Lieutenant Colonel-Nonato also balances his civilian role as teacher of De La Salle College, where he teaches scriptural studies and social studies to eighth graders, and serves as commandant of the De La Salle Cadet Corps.

Mr. Alberto Rodil: 5:20

Outside his professional life, Lieutenant-Colonel Nonato is a devoted husband to Sheila, who shares his Filipino heritage and loving father to their three children. Together, they run a modest podcast dedicated to Catholic wives and mothers. Please join me in welcoming Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Nonato, a dedicated leader, educator, and family man.

Lt.-Col. Joseph Nonato: 6:00

Honoured guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Kababayan, Maganding Hapon, et Maraming Salamat sa inyong lahat. (Good afternoon and Thank you very much). As I was preparing for this, it gave me pause to think: what makes me proud to be a Filipino? It's quite a statement that many non-Filipinos recognize the wonders of the complexity of our languages, the depth of our customs, the talents of our artists, the innovations of our thinkers, the effectiveness of our martial arts, and the deliciousness of our food, and the beauty of our people, among other things. But at the core, what makes us special?

Lt.-Col. Joseph Nonato: 6:36

What I concluded were three things that makes us special faith, family, and fight. Three words beginning with the letter "F." Which is pretty funny considering we don't even have that letter in our alphabet. First of all, faith. The Filipino has a heart that knows how to talk to God. We are God's people. Our people have given a new life to churches here in our country by our very presence. This strong and quiet witness of faith has given our country hope, strength, and confidence. God is definitely on the side of a humble and faithful people. Devotions and customs such as the Santo Nino, Virgin of Pena francia, the Black Nazarene, Saint Jude, Praise and Worship, charismatic movements, and Simbang Gabi (early morning Advent Catholic masses) are now in the vernacular and customary rhythm of the people here, in Phil for Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike. As our people go about our daily work, I suspect that many of our people are quietly converting their work into prayer.

Lt.-Col. Joseph Nonato: 7:46

Next, family. Family is also at the core of our strength. Each individual family with our proud family names, working together and praying together, on a common mission and purpose to nurture and raise each other. It is also the family within the wider collective of people helping people in need, driven by our faith and our love, and are characteristic of generosity through service and financial help to others when they encounter hard times. It's a beautiful custom to call another Filipino elder "Tito" or "Tita," ("Uncle" or "Aunt") or the one serving you at an establishment "Kuya" or "Ate." ("brother" or "sister") I remember once when I was on a military deployment in a foreign country, being told by a woman who I had I had just met and had known about 30 seconds before, who was ensuring that I would not break any local custom and therefore get in trouble with the law, who said to me, "Hoy, (Hey) if anyone comes and asks who you are, tell him that I am your Tita, okay?" And I said, "Oh, okay." And then she said, "Oh, gusto mong kumain?" (Do you want to eat?) So family and food. I love it.

Lt.-Col. Joseph Nonato: 8:56

We need to keep this up. We need to spend time with the young ones, converse with them, and transmit our values and virtues through examples and conversation, teaching them our languages and customs, the geography of our land, and the history of our proud people. We need to keep the family meal. Have frequent and routine get-togethers where everyone eats all together, preferably at the long, same long table for dinner. Have everyone seated in the order of family hierarchy. Lolos and Lolas (Grandfathers and Grandmothers) at the head and the youngest at the end. Doing so provides a visible history and will give our youth a sense of family pride in the history and culture that they come from.

Lt.-Col. Joseph Nonato: 9:40

Tell your family histories. Write them down, record them. We cannot lose touch with our roots. Our people are a light to others. Fight to which I mean resilience or pluck. We are not typically as a whole mayabang. Listen, it has taken us a long time and the humble and solid leadership of the GBA Foundation and the vision of the Delaganas and the Favilas and others to even have such a thing as this, the Golden Balangay Awards. (Balangay means a traditional Filipino boat)

Lt.-Col. Joseph Nonato: 10:12

Our culture has been forged by our ancestors, having to endure the effects of living in an archipelago of highly desirable contested islands. On top of this, our ancestors have endured the threats of natural disasters. Destruction and even death always seem to be on our doorstep. Despite all of this, an incredible characteristic of our people shines forth. We know how to smile in the face of extreme difficulty. Natural disasters come and go, but we always witness a people who simply never begin again.

Lt.-Col. Joseph Nonato: 10:57

Filipinos are hard workers or silent workers who get the job done. We come with an attitude of how can I help build this place? We seek to contribute. I have even heard of employers asking, hey, do you know of any more Filipinos who we could employ? I love the fact that when we get ourselves involved in something, we go all out. We do the very best that we can. An example of this goes back to the Korean War. 1951, at the Battle of the Yultong. There were 900 Filipino soldiers in the 10th Battalion combat team who fought off a force 40 times larger than them, even when their allied units who were flanking them had pulled back and withdrawn. Our effectiveness in dealing with adversity is even reflected in our martial arts of Cali, Arnis, Escrima. It is recognized as being one of the world's most effective martial arts. You can't watch an action movie without seeing it. Yet it comes from people who are always smiling and who are so very easy to get along with.

Lt.-Col. Joseph Nonato: 12:07

Tell them the stories of our ancestors and how they never took no for an answer. Tell them about the Ifugao, who solving the problem of growing rice on the side of a mountain by simply carving out rice terraces with shovels two thousand years ago. Or the Lolas stockpiling rice in preparation for the Japanese occupation, to the struggles of your own migration to this no home this new homeland of ours here in Canada.

Lt.-Col. Joseph Nonato: 12:35

In conclusion, the Golden Balangay Awards or Golden Bangai Balangay Awards is such a wonderful thing. The Balangay is such an appropriate symbol for all of us. It's a seafaring craft that leaves the safety of a harbor to venture out to discover, explore, and expand a sphere of influence. One can picture our ancestors on such a craft, with all the members of the craft working hard as one, together pulling on ropes and rudders, manipulating sails and oars, studying the sun and the wind, and navigating by the use of stars and by the feeling of the temperature of the waters, quietly praying to God under their breath for safety, success, and blessings for their families, bravely going out further and further away from familiar shores and bringing them with them the gifts of our homeland.

Lt.-Col. Joseph Nonato: 13:26

Now, not being in the Navy, I may be a little out of my element here, but for a seafaring craft to be successful, every crew member must put aside their differences in order to act as one for the good of the whole. To people who look at that ship from afar, they do not see a captain from Luzon, a navigator from the Visayas, or a sailmaster from Mindanao.

Lt.-Col. Joseph Nonato: 13:49

They see only one family, one ship, one balangay. This is us. Here we are in this Nordic country, on the other side of the world, a people whose blood is used to the warmth of our islands, whose youthful looks that have been shaped by the perpetual steam bath of the humidity of our Pacific home. We are working together as one. We are no longer tribal. Dialect and the local geography of our 7,641 islands do not separate us, but now unite us.

Lt.-Col. Joseph Nonato: 14:23

What matters to each other and to others is that we are Filipinos. Our brand is renowned. We are people of faith, family, and fight. Congratulations to everyone who is part of this. Not only are we positively contributing to our Canadian home, we are setting a positive positive example for our youth. Let us also not forget those "Kababayan" (countrymen), who it would be impossible to have a category for, who are undoubtedly impactful in their day-to-day work, transforming our landscape. I mention our priests, religious ministers, and all who labor in the fields of the Lord, who make tangible and loving face and hand make the tangible, the loving face and hand of God to the multitude, our nannies and all those who are helping and raising a good portion of the children of the influential in our country, our unsung caregivers who bring the warm embrace of care and charity to those in need who need assistance, and the caretakers and laborers who quietly put order to the chaos and disorder around us and many more.

Lt.-Col. Joseph Nonato: 15:26

It is truly wonderful to see us as one people celebrating these triumphs. The successes of the candidates and the winners are our collective successes. Educators, entrepreneurs, adventurers and artists, all masters of our crafts and influencers in their fields. We are proud. We have something to offer. We have dignity, we have a voice, and we have something to say. But these statements that we make aren't made by obnoxious yelling and screaming, but by the good exercise of deeds wrought forth by the good virtue and solid character through strong, steady, and silent work that has been exhibited by those who we are honoring today. So let us together celebrate the successes of our "Kabayan" (countrymen), and let us let our voice be heard loud and clear. We are proud of each other.

Lt.-Col. Joseph Nonato: 16:18

Let's together celebrate as one family and keep fighting the good fight.

Lt.-Col. Joseph Nonato: 16:22

Most importantly, let's take the opportunity to thank God for his love, his generosity, and his blessings. And let us do this together. Salamat at "Laging Una" (always together as one).

Co-hosts: 17:18

Let's Be Brave, Let's Be Bold and Be Blessed together.